Bleach Chronicle
by dionysianDaydream
Summary: It's five years into the future and a lot has changed. Who will step up to fill the void left with the disappearance of Karakura's finest hero? It may just run in the family. AU timeskip. Nonlinear. Chapters with descriptive titles have been edited.
1. Rough Start for Soul Sister

As night falls, man with curly, unruly blonde hair wearing a white and green pinstriped hat and green kimono takes a mental note of his store's stock. Today was about as slow as any other Saturday, but at least he did manage to part with some of the power necklaces that he recently added to the shop's inventory. This was more than great considering said power necklaces were really just bits of candy and spirit floss thrown together by a certain timid shop assistant with way too much free time on her hands.

Kisuke Urahara is your typical shrewd, a little shady, but ultimately good-intentioned small business owner, only his products are not exactly mainstream.

"We're running low on gikongan again," he sighs. The artificial soul pills have always been top sellers – a must have for any shinigami operating in the human world over long periods – but with the recent rise in local hollow activity, the demand for them has become nearly impossible to curb.

"I guess it can't be helped."

Before he can begin calculating the cost of another shipment, though, Urahara senses something. Something with a presence so powerful that it causes the atmosphere surrounding it to simmer and crackle is steadily approaching the shop.

Hoping it was just another stray shinigami hobbling about town after hours, Kisuke plays it cool.

"Sorry, we're closed for the night, but feel free to check back tomorrow," he hollers out the open window, more as a test to see if the entity was not something entirely less appealing than even a drunken death god.

"Mr. Urahara, help...it's me..." A young woman's voice responds between strained grunts.

After catching a glimpse of her staggering form through the open front window, he rushes to the open door.

"Karin Kurosaki, you don't look so hot!"

He is shocked by the appearance of the girl standing on his doorstep: her face and football jersey are covered in streaks of blood, still gushing forth from several bone-like thorns that are stuck into her body.

"What happened?" he asks, quickly letting her inside.

"We were walking home from my soccer game with my sister when a huge hollow attacked us." Karin struggles to say, shivering from the cold, and gasping with each breath. "Shinigami came to rescue us, and we barely made it out."

Incredibly, but slightly less so when you are as well acquainted with the Kurosaki family as Kisuke is, she had carried her unconscious sister on her shoulder the entire way; bravely limping and bleeding along the rocky, poorly lit back road that leads to the shop.

"That must be what's stinking up the place with all of this reiatsu," he says, looking past her to scan the empty street cautiously.

"I think..." she says, glancing over her shoulder, "it's still alive, and still after us."

Knowing that hollows are more attracted to humans with extraordinary spiritual power, Kisuke does not doubt her, nor does he seem even the slightest bit afraid. To him it is just another day of living between two worlds.

He knocks his cane on the wall to rally the rest of the house: Tessai, a Goliath of a man with hair done in cornrows and equipped with a glorious mustache, the indigo haired teen shop assistants Ururu - toothbrush in hand - and Jinta, who is three years younger than Ururu and with a head of spiky orange-red hair, at first looking annoyed, clamor down the stairs.

Donning a red polka dot pajama shirt looking like he was just getting ready to go to sleep, Tessai is nonetheless quick to act; laying the two siblings flat on the ground and after sending Jinta and Ururu off to retrieve the spare futons, gets to work examining their wounds.

"No doubt about it – they were attacked by hollows. They'll be alright, no doubt."

Even in her state, Karin is able to mutter a laugh. "You should have seen me. I gave it my best kick, and that took its entire arm off. Hell, if I didn't have to worry about Yuzu, I-"

Tessai motions for her to shush and with an annoyed look she obliges, as he begins the painful process of extracting the thorns one-by-one.

Meanwhile, Kisuke calmly draws his sword from its sheath in his cane.

"You did good, but leave the rest to me. Ichigo would kill me if anything happened to you on my watch."

With a tip of his hat he steps outside, into a wide open dirt yard that is partially bordered by a chain link fence. In Kisuke's eyes, it was as good an arena as any, for combating whatever foul creature picked the wrong girls to try and make evening snacks out of.

Urahara stands at the center of the empty yard.

"I know you're there, big guy. And if you're still after those girls, just know you'll have to get past me first," Urahara says, pointing his weapon at his adversary as it comes into view.

Rather than like the 'big guy' he imagined, though, the hollow appears relatively small – not much taller than an adult human – with unsightly, jagged bony protrusions jutting from its arms, legs and torso. Like all hollows however, it has a white mask with a unique design; this one's being two vertical fin-like extensions on either side of its head that are chipped slightly, but not only that...

As it draws closer, Urahara can see that a sizable chunk of the front of mask is broken away completely, revealing one black instead of white, blankly staring eye with a golden pupil.

"Shinigami," it mutters, with a voice so husky and distorted that it is impossible to tell whether its owner had once been male or female. One of its arms is missing, having been cleanly removed at the shoulder by an impact with enough force behind it to change the course of an oncoming bus. Karin's one good kick.

"Brzzt, wrong. I'm not a shinigami, although I assure you that my Zanpaktou is the real deal." He flourishes his Benihime, smirking confidently. "But my shop is closed right now, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to check back another time."

The otherworldly entity laughs, shaking up the surrounding atmosphere as it exerted more of its spiritual power.

"You're cocky. Just like the other worms." It says without any breaks in its lumbering stride. "Even that girl. As much as I'd hoped she would have been enough, she was too concerned about her sister's safety to fight at her full capacity."

"Full power or not, she certainly did a number on you," Kisuke snickers.

With a loud roar, the beast pulls a spiked bone out of its body and throws it at Kisuke. Although caught off guard he still manages to evade the sharp projectile, but not fast enough to avoid losing something to the deadly nail.

The now hat-less Urahara appears behind the hollow.

"Hey, that was my favorite hat! Not cool."

"You could have attacked me from behind but instead, you moan about your tacky headwear?"

"You're taking this pretty seriously, aren't you?"

The hollow swings its arm at Kisuke, but he easily blocks it with his sword.

"Sing, Benihime!" Urahara shouts.

The blade of his sword glows crimson red and, with a shrill whistling noise like fireworks being set off, releases a crescent shaped blast of energy that cuts through the hollow's arm as easily as a pair of scissors does through paper.

"Ah, that felt so," the hollow shrieks orgasmically, falling down on one knee, "exhilarating!"

"Here I thought your appetite for teenage girls was creepy enough," Kisuke muses.

He is about to deliver the coup de grace when he picks up on the subtle shifting of surrounding airborne spirit particles, indicating something was moving rapidly nearby.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me!"

"No can do. It looks like the cleanup crew is on its way."

Sure enough, three shinigami appear out of thin air and encircle the downed hollow. The one standing on the left, lean built and completely bald, with small red markings at the outer corners of his eyes, is the first to step forward.

"Damn, we got here too late," Ikkaku Madarame says, stabbing his zanpaktou into the ground angrily, as is his typical response to missing out on a good fight.

On the right, an effeminate, well-groomed man with meticulously arranged purple hair adorned by peacock feathers shakes his head. "This is quite an ugly predicament we've found ourselves in, Captain. The entire unit was totally decimated. A relief team is moving in now, but they say it doesn't look good," he says.

At the center of the odd duo stands a man garbed in the traditional white Thirteen Court Guard Squad Captain's uniform, whose hair is blood red and flowing, and whose skin is marked with exotic tattoos done in dark ink along the sides of his face and forehead (as well as covering most of his back and shoulders).

This Captain abruptly punches the hollow in its face, leaving it sprawled out on the ground.

"From this point on, a ranked officer should be in direct command of all Joker brigades," he says, casually massaging the knuckle that had just left a visible dent in a mask made of pure bone.

Urahara fans himself with the folding fan he keeps stashed in his sleeve, watching with amusement from the side.

"How could one hollow be cause enough to bring Lieutenant Madarame, Third-seated officer Ayasegawa and Captain Abarai out to the front line? It must be a real troublemaker."

Renji Abarai glances at Urahara as if noticing him for the first time.

"Tell me about it – this isn't even our first call tonight."

Ordinarily Kisuke would joke, but the Captain of the Living World-stationed Squad 14 looks dead serious. He goes so far as to deliberately stand in front of the weakened hollow, clutching the hilt of his sheathed zanpaktou.

"We've received orders to keep this one alive," Renji says.

"Now why would that be?"

The execution of hollows is a primary role of Shinigami; necessary for the maintaining of the spiritual equilibrium of both worlds. Therefore, what possible reason could there be for one particular hollow be exempted?

"Apparently the eggheads at Squad 12 wanted to get a nice, long look at a Joker," Ikkaku responds, rolling his eyes.

Renji cuffs him in the back of his neck.

"That's confidential information, Lieutenant," he says with authority. "Besides, where do you get off calling anybody an egghead?"

"Damn you interfering shinigami," the hollow growls, earning a stomp on the face from the rustled Ikkaku.

Urahara shrugs. So long as he could be certain that the shinigami Having at one point assisted Renji in his training – back before he made Captain – he is willing to put his faith in the motley crew, because so long as the wretched thing will not be around to harm the girls anymore and his name would not show up in any documentation differed back to the Soul Society (he is in enough trouble with them as it is), he is perfectly fine with handing over the keys.

Unfortunately Karin, who had overheard everything from inside while Tessai was mending her wounds, was not.

Karin bursts through the front door and limps out of the shop, making an aggressive beeline toward the small gathering.

"What the hell," she shouts, "are you just gonna let them go after what that thing did to Yuzu?"

The blaring pain behind every step she takes is made plainly obvious by her twisted facial expressions, but she remains adamant.

"She can see us?" Yumichika asks.

He is rightfully surprised by the fact that this normal looking high school girl could clearly sense shinigami and hollows, although he and his partner are also immediately struck by something else.

"Hey, isn't she someone I've met before?" Ikkaku says, rubbing his bald head as if it were a good luck charm.

"How do you expect me to remember something for you? Although, I feel like I've known her from somewhere before, too..."

Renji shakes his fist at them.

"That's Ichigo Kurosaki's sister, you idiots!"

"Huh? No way..." Ikkaku says.

Urahara butts in, "It's kind of hard to recognize her now because she's gotten so gosh darn pretty, huh?"

Ikkaku's expression brightens. "Oh wait, I see it now. You're the snarky one."

"My, Urahara is right, that rugged tomboyish look you're sporting does suit you rather nicely." Yumichika sneers.

"Shut your mouth, you old pervert," Karin snarls at Kisuke, pointing her finger at him. Then, at the snoody Ayasegawa. "And is my style really being criticized by a guy wearing dark eyeliner, with feathers in his hair?"

Ikkaku cracks up, as his squadmate seethes.

"Why the red face? You've heard that one plenty of times before, Yumichika."

As the back and forth arguing intensifies, Renji watches as the downed hollow opens up its mouth and from it, another of its spikes protrudes; aimed at Karin. Faster than a man can bat his eyelid, he moves in and catches the spike as it is being launced.

"You think you're sneaky, asshole?"

He breaks the spike over his knee, then motions quickly to his subordinates.

"Bring our friend here back to the barracks. I'll send a butterfly over to have them prepare the Senkaimon for transport."

Karin cannot believe what she is hearing.

"You're seriously not gonna kill it? What's wrong with you?" Karin says, tugging at his hanging robe. "Mister Urahara, do something!"

"Don't look at me – I'm just a lowly merchant who was just out on a nighttime stroll," he says, while searching around in the dark for his hat.

Renji seizes his cloak from Karin's grasp and glares at her.

Unimpeded by the human girl's protests, Yumichika and Ikkaku each take one side of the hollow, whose head is bowed and has fallen silent, and pulls it back unto its feet. The two of them disappear along with their captive, leaving Renji Abarai alone with Karin and Urahara, who was off in La La Land on a quest for that special hat.

"Hey, Kurosaki."

She looks up at him slowly.

"Did you really kick that thing's arm off?" he asks with his back still turned to Karin, silently appraising her over his shoulder.

She nods, still fuming over her denied vengeance.

"Like brother, like sister. Not bad," Renji says with a grin.

She watches him walk away until he fades into the impenetrable darkness. As the sounds of his sandals scratching across the rocky ground subside, Karin can struggles to regain her breath then falls over sideways like a tormented rag doll.

For a split second the Captain had subjected her to the full extent of his spiritual pressure, which was normally kept subdued for stealth reasons. It was like he had control over the Earth's gravity, and could use it at any minute to pin her down, and crush her. Whether it was a gesture meant to challenge her, make her feel vulnerable, or just make her be quiet, it served all of the above purposes for Karin. The older Kurosaki sister realized then that she wasn't so much mad at the shinigami as she was at herself for not being strong enough to protect Yuzu from harm in the first place.

Without uttering a word, Renji Abarai dared her to change that.

So, by the time that the newly rehatted Urahara comes to her aide, Karin assures him that she is okay and just wants to see Yuzu, but is also prepared to voice a new resolve awakened within her.

"Hey Mr. Hat-and-clogs, I need to get stronger," She says simply, grinding her teeth like a ravenous wolf.

"Like brother, like sister, huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

She showed up bright and early the next morning, just like Urahara told her, which is really something considering just how close she came to dying last night, but with a smile he realized she was only able to by her own power, which even Renji thought was impressive.

"She's here." Tessai whispers to Urahara as he emerges from the basement after making some last minute preparations. "Kisuke, is that a bruise on your face?"

Urahara waves it off as nothing.

"I think I'll feed the strays before we get started."

At the back of the shop is a thin strip of green - some might call it a small garden - and a sliver of a patio, that meets an cement wall. He sets a bowl of warm milk on the patio, grinning like a child on the day before his birthday.

"Here, kitty kitty!" He calls and right on cue, a slew of the feline denizens from the alleyway adjacent to the house climb over the wall and in a chorus of meows, partake in a milk lapping frenzy.

One cat, however, remains sitting on the wall staring intently at Kisuke. It has a thin, black coat and eyes that feature large, shiny gold pupils.

"Don't you want some nice warm milk, pretty kitty?"

...

Karin had been idling at the front of the house for a solid twenty minutes by the time Kisuke comes to the front door, stretching and yawning.

"Did you just wake up or something?" Karin says, glaring at him as though he were the hollow that attacked her last night.

"Nah. I was just out feeding the strays." He says, smiling sheepishly. "Besides, I figured that if you were really serious about being trained by me, you would stick around for as long as it took."

"You make me sick."

"Aha, aren't you supposed to call me Sensei now?"

"I'll save that for when you've actually taught me something." Karin says, crossing her arms stubbornly. "So, where is this training going to take place? At some abandoned warehouse? An old World War II airplane hanger? I remember you said you took Ichigo someplace big."

Urahara does not answer. He just whistles as he leads her into the living room, where he stops at a square hole in the ground. "Here we are." He says, and when Karin cranes her neck to look down said hole, Urahara kicks her in the behind, making her fall through it.

One surprised scream later, Karin lands facefirst unto an uneven bed of craggy natural rock, in a room that was certainly larger than all of Urahara's small shop.

"What...the...hell?" She groans, looking up at a pair of elevated split toe straw sandals. Beyond them, and the smiling Urahara wearing them, she sees a bright blue sky speckled with slowly moving white clouds up above, in place of a ceiling. "There's a sky in your basement."

"Looks just like the real thing, doesn't it?" Urahara says. He is standing over her, holding his cane along his shoulders with one hand and, curled up comfortably in the other...

"Why do you have a cat?"

"Well I for one think that cats make lovely pets, but she's an extra special case for a variety of reasons." He says, stroking along the satisfied feline's head and back. "Her name is Yoruichi, and I guess she decided to join us at the last minute. If you do well enough in today's lesson, you might earn the opportunity to learn a thing or two from her."

"You have got to be kidding me." Karin says, as she was beginning to doubt - not for the first or last time - the question of this man's sanity.

Urahara points the cane at her. "My lesson, my secret underground training ground, my rules. Stand up, Kurosaki."

She does so eagerly, brushing the dust off her shirt. "So, where do we start?"

"We start by you telling me exactly why it is I should be up so early on a Sunday morning to train you."

"Because..." Karin says, clenching her fists and looking down. "Ever since Ichigo left, those hollows have been showing up everywhere. And they're always after me, which puts Yuzu, my dad, and anyone else who's around me in danger."

She glares at Urahara with that same determined look in her eyes.

"I can't keep hiding from my power anymore, or relying on other people to fight my battles for me like I've been doing. Since other lives are at stake, I need to become strong enough to defend not only myself, but people like Yuzu who can't even see ghosts."

Urahara nods his head as he contemplates her answer, secretly impressed at how similar she was to Ichigo. "I like your answer." He says after a while, as he repositions his hat,"Yeah, that'll give us something to work with."

Yoruichi jumps out of his arm and climbs unto a nearby spire of rock, then Urahara walks toward Karin with his open hand out.

"Do you still have those hollow repellant pills you bought from me last week?"

"Yeah, but even these don't seem to be any help at all anymore." She reaches into her pocket to take out the unmarked plastic container filled with the colorful, swallowable capsules. "But I haven't taken any this morning so -"

Urahara snatches the container from her hand and with a throwing arm that would make any pro ballplayer envious, hurls it across the room.

"Never use them again, because they're actually soul repressing pills. They lower your spiritual pressure so hollows are less likely to single you out."

Karin grimaces when she recalls how much she paid for those 'soul repressing pills'.

"You are going to give me a refund, right?"

Urahara clears his throat and coughs loudly, continuing as if he hadn't heard her; "Anyway, I'm glad you decided to wear shorts today, because this first exercise is going to be all about kicking."

"Smooth transition, Sensei." Karin snarks. "And knowing you, I'll bet that's not the only reason why you're glad to see me in shorts."

Catching Karin completely off guard, Urahara sets the flat end of his cane against her forehead and with one firm shove is able to force the soul right out of her body.

After doing this he steps back, fanning his face coolly.

"You have just died. Congratulations!" Urahara exclaims cheerfully. "But you're only a regular soul right now, so we've still got a long ways to go."

The soul of Karin is connected to the body by the Chain of Fate attached to her chest. Just as Urahara said, her's was a Whole soul; unarmed, wearing her plain clothing rather than the traditional black Shihakusho of a Shinigami.

"Huh?" Karin gasps, and tries desperately to pull the chain loose. "It's choking me...I can't breathe..."

"I'd leave that alone if I were you. If you pull that chain out...well, then you really would be dead. We're not quite there at this point."

"And how exactly do you expect me to fight like this?" It was as though her lungs were being crushed with each breath she took, and the area around the point near her solar plexus where the chain was attached felt heavy and numb.

Urahara smirks. "Figure something out quick, 'cuz it looks like she's itching for a-" He is cut off by a flying sandal to the face.

"I said I'd do my own introduction, dumbass!"

Karin's soul turns to face the half barefoot assailant; a younger looking girl in a red tracksuit, whose face is freckled and whose dirty blonde hair is tied into two pigtails.

More worrying than her innocent looks, though, is the fact that she is holding a Zanpaktou.

"How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Who said I was finished talking? If you would just shut your face for a second you might learn something!" The kid screams at Karin. Then she announces, with an inside voice that was still a few decibels too loud, "I'm Hiyori Sarugaki, and Kisuke said he needed someone to mess up Ichigo's kid sister so that's why I'm here!"

The downed Urahara holds up a finger. "Protect yourself using only your legs and feet, Karin!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you insane? That chick has a sword!"

"Don't worry, she probably won't use it. Unless you get her mad." Urahara says, and watches without any visible change to his expression as Hiyori sends Karin's soul hurdling into a rock with a roundhouse kick to the gut, the length of the chain connected with her physical body increasing in length to compensate.

Urahara sits back in a foldable chair next to Yoruichi. "That looked like it hurt." He says to the cat, petting her with one hand and fussing in his coat pocket for something with the other.

"Come on!"

Before the dust clears, Hiyori yanks Karin's chain to pull her back within range of another kick, that sends her flying until she collides with the rock, again.

"Are you even gonna put up a fight?"

Hiyori plays yo-yo with Karin like this several times, stopping only when the 'yo-yo' smashes through the rock, and seems to have stopped moving.

The ill-tempered girl kisses her teeth. "Tch, you're even weaker than Ichigo."

A period of silence follows.

...one that is broken when Urahara takes a loud first sip from the carton of chocolate milk he had stashed in his pocket that morning.

"Why are you sitting there looking so relaxed?" Hiyori growls at the indifferent instructor. "I think I just killed your student!"

Urahara shakes his head and points - to Karin's soul, struggling to regain her footing; her pure white Shihakusho now dyed deep red by her own blood, torn and scratched.

"Wanna swing me around some more?" She says, grinning and panting as she assumes a combat posture."Or, are you gonna come over here so I can kick your cocky butt?"

"Who are you calling cocky?" Hiyori says, wrapping Karin's Chain of Fate around her hands. "You cocky bitch!"

A tug'o'war match breaks out between the two as Urahara looks on, biting at the straw hanging out of his mouth. One second it's Hiyori picking up the slack; then, with one adamant pull Karin has the lead again. Hiyori, Karin, Hiyori, Karin...

"Keep your hands off...my chain!"

"I'll show you...dipshit. You're just...a plus soul. You can't...frigging...overpower me!"

With a twinkle in her eye, Karin crouches like a spring being pressed down upon, readying herself to, when Hiyori gives the chain one more tug at full strength, jump into the air with her foot out in front of her.

...

Cut to five days later, when one of Karin's kicks lands a square hit on the ex-Lieutenant's face. With the same foot, Karin pins her down by the mouth.

"I've been meaning to do this since I first met you."

Hiyori has an angry expression (but seriously, when doesn't she?) as she tries to say something, but it's muffled by the Kurosaku sister's soul's sole.

"That's my girl!" Urahara says, standing in applause. "You've come a long way already." Yoruichi meows loudly, as if in agreement.

She glares at him. "No thanks to you. I haven't learned a single thing from you all week..."

"Is that so?" He says slyly, with his arms folded sagelike. "Well how's this for lesson one - keep your eyes on the enemy."

"You're so slow it's pathetic!"

...Hiyori says, but Karin wheels around and holds up her leg to block just in time as she - having flash stepped behind her - attempts an all-out downward sandal swipe, in true Hiyori Sarugaki fashion.

"You were saying?"

With an irritated grunt, Hiyori follows up by launching a knee kick that Karin also blocks, then counterattacks with two quick kicks to her chest and jaw.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of fighting in your spirit form, Kurosaki." Urahara says, discreetly discarding an empty packet of coconut macaroons he had been munching on that morning.

"Well when it's a nutjob like this that's after me," Karin ducks and evades another kick, swivels to the side of a punch, grabbing the assailing arm then proceeding to shove a Hiyori complaining about being called a nutjob aside effortlessly, "I don't really have a choice."

"A spirit grows stronger when it's repeatedly faced with life threatening situations. I put Ichigo through a similar ordeal for his training but I have to say, you're handling it much better." And his opponent was Ururu with a pair of boxing gloves while yours is an ex-seated Shinigami with hollow powers, he purposely neglects to mention.

"Yeah, I can definitely feel my power growing." Karin admits, but from the tone her voice it was clear she was not content. "Still, it's not enough. I need to be at Ichigo's level. Not only to protect Yuzu, but..."

She fistpumps triumphantly.

"I'll show that Shinigami that we don't need any of his help with protecting Karakura Town."

Although at first impressed by her selfless goal, Urahara can't help but snicker at the prospect of little Karin taking on Captain Renji Abarai.

Hiyori scoffs.

"Quit talking like Ichigo's the toughest guy around, 'cuz he isn't. Hell, I've thumped him a few times myself."

"Oh yeah...?"

"Yeah! He even came crawling to me, begging me to be his trainer once!" The pigtailed Visored says as she rights herself, having landed flat on her ass as a result of Karin's throwing maneuver. "All I want to know is, how the heck is a puny plus soul like you giving me so much trouble?" She asks, with her teeth bared as if it were a life or death question.

"That's easy. I have a Black Belt in Karate." Karin punches the air in succession then, with her eyes closed, breathes in deeply. "Not only that, but I was taught by the very best, so I will not allow myself to lose, lest I risk disgracing them."

(Cue pictures of Tatsuki's, then Ichigo's, then Bruce Lee in a scene from Fists of Fury's faces populating a thought bubble...followed by a beaming Isshin Kurosaki's, only to be crossed out by a red X mark shortly after.)

Hiyori crosses her arms; sour attitude apparent.

"Karate always sounded like a load of chicken shit to me." She says, rolling her eyes. "Like, what do belt colors even matter?"

"It's not all about the belt! It's the person wearing the belt that counts."

"I swear, whenever you land a few lucky hits it goes straight to your head."

"What are you...? Just pipe it, pipsqueak!"

"Pipsqueak?" The pipsqueak fumes at her. "I've got at least five hundred years on you, brat, so you had better start treating me with some respect."

"Fair enough, granny!"

As the catfighting continues, Urahara laughs to himself - what had he brought upon himself by putting these two in the same room together?

Truthfully, there was more than one reason for why he wanted Hiyori to train with Karin. More than just because they are both capable of enhancing their basic attacks with spiritual power, he thought the girl could use a friend after so many of the Visoreds returned to the Sereitei without her.

Urahara sighs, hiding his eyes in the perpetual shade beneath the rim of his hat.

Ever since she started staying at his shop three days ago, it was as though she were part of the family and yet something more. Like the Squad 12 Captain within him had never truly disappeared, or some other such 'chicken shit' as his once-Lieutenant would call it.

"Now you've crossed the line!" She screams at a volume that was even louder than the usual suddenly, jarring Kisuke out of his thoughts.

He looks up to see Hiyori holding her unsheathed Zanpaktou, pointed at Karin.

Could she really be intending to...?

"What are you doing?" Karin asks, backing away slowly.

"I'm gonna give you a taste of what real power is, without any stupid belts!"

She archs the sword behind her head as far back as she can then swings it at Karin, but is halted midway by Urahara's Benihime.

"Welp, let's call today a wrap, girls." He says with a yawn.

"Come on! We've been doing nothing but kicking and punching for five days straight, and I'm sick of it." Hiyori groans.

"For once I agree with her, Mr. Urahara. When are we gonna move on to something a little more...exciting?"

With the threat of cold-blooded ghost murder sufficiently averted, Urahara turns his back to the training partners and scratches his chin as he mulls over the idea.

"Well...?"

Just then Yoruichi strides between his feet, looks up at him and meows, giving him an idea. Ah yes, perhaps it was due time...

"I might be able to come up with something. But on the condition that you," he points at Hiyori, "Walk our Karin home tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

At the same time Hiyori and Karin are about to go on their walk, Rin Tsubokura at the SRDI Central Surveillance Office rubs his eyes and looks at the monitor again to make sure he wasn't reading the numbers incorrectly again. Even though it turned out he was, he still could not believe the results from the most recent spectral analysis of the Living World.

"Why are you gaping at the screen like that, Rin?" Hiyosu - a fat, blue skinned fishlike character most Shinigami recall having seen around during one or two pivotal moments, but find great difficulty in remembering the name of - yells at him from across the room, "You're supposed to be keeping your eyes peeled for any abnormal readings."

"I think this one might count, sir."

The Department Head rolls his chair closer to see, looking over Rin's shoulder with a retractable left eye he controls by winding a lever attached to his left temple.

"My, this is interesting. Very, very interesting. A group of powerful spiritual bodies has appeared in Zone X." He rubs his hands together like a scheming mad scientist. "My, that Squad 14 is going to have their hands full with this one."

"Is it like the hollows from before?"

"It's difficult to tell. The signature is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Well, how can we be sure it's something bad?"

"Don't ask stupid questions!" Hiyosu snaps as he reels his eyeball back into place. "Anything that is neither a human, a soul, or shinigami poses a threat to the reincarnation cycle." They have had this conversation several times before in the past, and yet...

Rin is about to say something in retort, but is distracted by a figure dressed in white robes standing at the center of the dimly lit room.

"Captain Kurotsuchi?" He asks, craning his eyes to see by the dim light of the dual rows of computer monitors. "How long have you been standing there?"

In actuality, Nemu Kurotsuchi had been watching them undetected for quite some time; only allowing herself to be seen when she felt compelled to join their conversation.

"Hiyosu, your assessment is false." She says matter-of-factly, with a flat, unwavering vocal tone. "There exist valid exceptions to your argument."

"What makes you say that, Captain? If you can name one other kind of spiritual being that has ever benefitted the Sereitei-"

"The substitute shinigami known as Ichigo Kurosaki, the quincy known as Uryu Ishida, the demi-hollow Yasutora Sado" She says in a list, then looks directly at Rin when she adds, "Artificial souls."

Rin smiles, something he was doing more and more of since one of the more infamous squads in the Sereitei underwent some much needed spring cleaning. Needless to say, the new Captain's subtle gestures of kindness were a vast improvement over the constant threat of long-range detonation mines being installed into your body while you sleep.

Hiyosu scratches his chin thinking of a counter-argument, but you'd be pretty stubborn to take on Nemu Kurotsuchi in a battle of facts. "Fine, I'll admit there are exceptions." He finally admits, and it should be noted that even a fish freak like him was capable of feeling awkward, after having not only just been trounced by his superior officer, but for accidentally dissing her and the coworker sitting next to him.

"Still, based on past research results, odd spiritual patterns indicate on a seventy to eighty percentile scale that a malevolent presence is at work."

"Yes. It could even be that the hollows may now be mutating to an extent that we can no longer identify them based on the signature of their Reiatsu." Nemu says in her typical robotic monotone, "I will arrange for scouts to attempt a visual analysis. In the meantime, maintain vigilance of the subject."

"We should warn the Squad 14 Captain just in case, right?" Rin suggests, at which Nemu nods in agreement, saying, "As protocol demands," then turns to leave with a swish of her robes.

"You know, Rin, the old Captain's robes look kind of big on her." Hiyosu comments, looking over his shoulder to be sure she was not still in the room.

"Is it? I think it suits her just fine." He says, blushing slightly.


	5. Chapter 5

Once Karin's soul had been shoved back into the confines of a physical body, Urahara told her to wait outside while he 'prepared' Hiyori to join her on the walk home. Although the idea of taking a moonlit stroll with somebody who had been beating her up all week sounded ludicrous, the eccentric Sensei insisted upon it.

"Nothing's ever as it seems with that guy." Karin contemplates, kicking a rock around idly. "He really is mysterious."

But his intentions always seemed to be in the right place, she reminded herself, and that made her consider whether getting to know Hiyori better would benefit her training at all.

Before she could make any headway on the complex puzzle that is the mind of Kisuke Urahara, the big mystery man himself bursts out the front door, twirling his fan around drammatically with a group comprised of Tessai, Jinta rubbing his eyes, and a drowsy Ururu flanking him.

"It's here! It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" He announces to Karin and the empty air of the dirt lot. "I proudly present to you-"

Hiyori shoves him out of the way before he can finish, and takes a step toward Karin. "...yeah, he lent me one of his gigai." She says unexcitedly.

"Not just any gigai, either." Urahara adds, returning to his cool demeanor as abruptly as the flip of a switch. "This one's special, mostly because of the cool clothes I picked out for her." (Ururu: "B-b-but I helped...")

"So, what do you think?"

A black bolero with a red undershirt, and a knee-length, lime green tiered skirt with white leggings and...straw sandals? 'Cool' would not be the word the tanktop w/ jacket, plain jean shorts wearing Karin would use to describe the garrish getup.

"Err, it's great." She lies, then quickly changes the subject, by asking "What's a gigai?"

At this Hiyori snickers. "You're new to this, aren't y-" Urahara appears more than happy to explain the mechanisms behind a gigai, 'accidentally' jabbing Hiyori in the face with his elbow as he pulls out a chart that he so conveniently had tucked away in his robe:

"A gigai is a vessel into which the soul of a shinigami or, in this case, Hiyori," she nearly bites off the finger he has pointed at her, but he withdraws it just in time, "...can enter to become indistinguishable from an ordinary living, breathing human being." He motions to a crude crayon-drawn image of what could be anthropomorphic rabbits or a child's first attempt at drawing humans smiling at each other while clouds of toxic gas wafted over their heads. "As is detailed in this section of the diagram."

"Did you draw this?" Karin asks, cracking up at the mental image of Urahara getting down to business with a giant box of crayons.

"Nope. This material was donated to me by an old acquaintance." He says while stashing it away, then starts shooing the girls like they were a duo of meddlesome insects. "Now go, before it gets too late. Talk to each other. Get something to eat. Do whatever it is kids your age would do."

As they set off walking, Hiyori shoots him a look over her shoulder that roughly translates to "I'd rather deep fry and eat my own pigtails", but his smiles does not fade, nor does his hand stop waving until the pair disappears down the street.

At this point Tessai voices his concerns.

"There are many hollows afoot tonight." He warns, but the suspicious shopkeeper appears unbothered by the news.

"Will they really be safe, Kisuke?"

"Safe? They're just two girls out for a nice stroll, and one of them has a black belt in karate. And Hiyori is...Hiyori. There's not a thing to worry about." He says with a slight hint of a smile, then grips the hilt of his Zanpaktou. "Besides, we've got our plates full enough for tonight as it is, don't we?"

"We sure do, boss." Jinta yawns, bringing the large mallet he had been holding behind his back into view.

Meanwhile, as Urahara and company were getting down to business, another group has arrived in Karakura Town, on an important mission.

A pair of shinigami flash step from rooftop to rooftop en route to a predetermined location. Taking point is a petite woman with short black hair worn in two long braids that trail in the air behind her, each ending in a large golden ring. Her companion is of a similar lithe build, but is wearing a black mask that covers her face and mouth, leaving only a pair of large pink pupilled eyes exposed.

"It's so powerful, Captain Suì-Fēng...just like the reports said."

"Remain close to me at all times."

"Yes, ma'am!"

At their breakneck pace it doesn't take them long to arrive, where the leader issues a signal to halt on a rooftop overlooking a pretty square with a fountain that is the home of several boutiques, clothing outlets, and fast food restaurants, many of which were still seeing customers.

"According to the surveillance team intel, this is our A-zone. The target may be expecting us, so keep your head low but remain vigilant." Captain Suì-Fēng lectures, then turns to her partner. "Lieutenant, I need the pair of goggles I gave you to hold on to."

She hands them over to the Captain obediently, whose own Shihakusho had no fabric covering the back, rendering it unsuitable for storing things.

"In case you didn't already know, Lieutenant, these goggles are an invaluable tool for scouting operations." Suì-Fēng says, turning her head this way and that.

"Yes, ma'am."

With the turn of a dial, the crowds of people become blobs of varying shades of red, orange and yellow against a dull blue backdrop, much like the feedback of a thermal scope only rather than heat being detected it was Reiatsu.

"They all appear to be humans of regular spiritual power. I could be our target is hiding in plain sight...wait, who is that...?"

A towering, wide figure in a ragged brown cloak with the hood drawn emerges into view from behind the Ramen Hut, alongside a slimmer man that wore glasses.

"Those two over there look familiar." The Lieutenant says, but Suì-Fēng holds her hand up for silence.

The larger man in a cloak shows up on the goggles with a distinctly purple and red aura, while the other's was of a noticeably lighter, brighter blue than most humans.

"These two aren't what we're looking for, but one of their spiritual signatures is very similar to that of a..." The Captain trails off when she spots a commotion unfolding by the water fountain. "What is happening over there?"

A human is kneeling on the floor with his hands wrapped around the back of his head, screaming at the top of his lungs. Through the goggles, and as the people around him look on from a distance, she watches his aura change...

"Captain Suì-Fēng, that human is transforming into something!"

The Captain of Squad 2 lowers the goggles, and even considering all her many years and experience serving as a shinigami, she is amazed by what she sees.

"He's turning into...a hollow!" She says, every thinking particle within her gaping in disbelief.


	6. Chapter 6

Uryu Ishida looks through the gaps of the crowd of scared onlookers until he locks eyes with a busty girl with an orange bob cut, who had been going to town on a peanut butter and tuna sandwich.

She nods at him, then rises from her chair and, pressing her fingers against the 'snowflake' hairpin above her left ear, Orihime Inoue declares the magic phrase:

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!"

As soon as the words escape her mouth, an unnatural orange glow emits from the hairpin and it grows until it bathes the entire square.

"What kind of power is this?" Suì-Fēng asks, unable to determine the nature of its power by looking through the goggles.

"It's like everything has stopped moving, ma'am!"

But Soi Fon and the Lieutenant were unaffected by the forcefield, that seemed to freeze all of the ordinary humans in place. That is except for the one howling in agony as his skin turned gray, the muscles of his arms and legs and chest expanded, and the plasterlike mold of a mask began to form over his face. In any case, he was already at a stage where it would be incorrect to label him an 'ordinary human'.

"The large one in the cloak is approaching the target." Suì-Fēng says, as she continues to survey the scene. "And I swear I've seen these three before, somewhere..."

"It's Jiggles! And Pencil!" The Lieutenant blurts out while pointing at Orihime, then Uryu, earning her a harsh look from the strict Suì-Fēng.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, ma'am. I'm just better at recognizing people by nicknames I give them."

Suì-Fēng casts her a questioning look. "If they let you call them names like that, you must know them fairly well."

"Well, that's..."

Conveniently enough for the flustered Lieutenant, the cloaked giant suddenly extends an arm tattooed with the image of a winged heart and a snake, featuring an Italian phrase that reads 'Amore e Morte'. With it, pulls off his concealing garment to reveal an impressively thick, muscular torso; the result of years of intense physical as well as spiritual training, and a demanding day job in construction.

But of course neither of the shinigami knew about any of that, and were more concerned about what a man with such a dominating presence could do to their defenseless scouting target.

"We have to stop him. On my mark, Lieutenant. Three...two...one..."

Uryu was the first among them to detect Suì-Fēng as she was about to lunge on Sado Yosutora, the all-out maneuver having constituted a momentary break in her ability to conceal her Reiatsu footprint.

"Sado!" He quickly yells, and the hulking half-hollow is able to react in time to guard himself against Suì-Fēng's aerial zanpaktou strike, using his bare arms no less.

"You're faster than you look."

He grunts in response.

While still in midair, Suì-Fēng kicks off of him and, with a graceful backflip, lands on her feet.

"I am Captain of the Sereitei's Squad 2, Suì-Fēng. Tell me, what exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Furthermore, what have you done to all of these people?" She interrogates them while assuming a fighting posture.

The three are at first surprised to see such a high ranking shinigami in the living world. But Uryu, who has always been the calm and collected one, snaps out of it first.

"These people are safe. Orihime's power of rejection allows her to reject the existence of anything with a lower spiritual presence than her. Nothing can so much as touch them," he holds out a hand that phazes right through one of the frozen people as a demonstration, "and they are no longer affected by the passage of time."

He pauses to adjust his glasses.

"But, I don't think you understand the severity of the issue at hand. That man is about to become an extraordinarily powerful hollow and must be killed now, before more innocent lives are put in danger."

Despite his dire warning, however, Suì-Fēng does not appear moved in the slightest.

"You don't call the shots around here - we do - and I order you to dispel this forcefield immediately. You are interfering with official shinigami business, and breaching Squad 14's exorcism rights in the area."

She points a finger at them.

"You will stand down now, or else face the consequences."

Uryu grimaces. "How typical of you shinigami. Too wrapped up in your egos and your own damn protocol to get anything done."

"I'd be careful about what you say to me about the way 'we shinigami' operate." Suì-Fēng says, grinning. "You're already in hot water as it is."

While that conversation is going on, the Lieutenant is performing a series of tests on the hollowfying human using SRDI special equipment.

Orihime notices this.

"What are you doing?" She asks, and considering the bizarre design of such items as the 'soul leech' that wriggles into a person's ears to obtain a sample of their Reiatsu, you would probably be worried too.

The Lieutenant whirls around, and, removing her face mask, snarls at Orihime, "Mind your own beeswax, Jiggles."

"'Jiggles'? Oh, you're Yachiru!" Cue warm flowers over Orihime's head. "You look taller than I remember, so at first I didn't recognize you."

"Yep! I'm almost tall enough to reach the jar of sweets in the Squad 4 infirmary." The pink-haired shinigami says proudly, who now looked closer to thirteen years old.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Important stuff! I'm on a big mission with Soyb-" Yachiru stops before uttering the one nickname she knew better than to use lightly, "Err, Captain Suì-Fēng wanted me to come with her, 'cuz I'm the only one who can keep up with her."

"Wow, how exciting! Kenpachi must be so proud of you."

Yachiru looks downcast at the mention of her Captain's name. "Yeah, Kenny-chan's..."

Before she can say anything else, a brilliant flash of light whizzes past that narrowly misses her head, flying until it crashes into a wall in an explosion of blue sparks.

"Cut the chitchat, both of you. This is serious." Uryu says. In the absence of his left arm, there is a limb composed of raw reiatsu holding up his Quincy bow with another arrow already drawn and pointed at Yachiru and Suì-Fēng. "If you two don't leave right now, we'll have no choice but to force you to."

Suì-Fēng smirks. "You fools. If it's a fight you want, and I won't have to hold back..."

She takes a deep breath, as the full extent of her spiritual pressure is set loose, stifling as a radioactive wave.

"I'll deal with you all, myself."


	7. Chapter 7

Karin and Hiyori had stopped to grab something to eat at the nearest Burger King, and were just leaving the pastel-plated palace of piggishness when they heard the sound of an explosion.

"I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?" Karin looks to the Visored disquised as a human sipping out of a Large cup of diluted Champagne Cola. "Hiyori...?"

She shrugs, not even bothering to remove her mouth from . "It smells like a shinigami," she says, but then her eyes bulge with fright when she gives the spiritual aura in the air another good 'whiff'. "And...something else...what the hell is that?"

She points at a small figure in black; a shinigami, with a shock of pink hair peeking out from beneath the face mask she wears, perched atop the glowing Burger King sign above an empty lot behind the restaurant by an unfriendly smelling dumpster. Cradled in the sign jumper's arms is something a good deal larger than herself, possibly the reason why she just stopped to catch her breath.

"Hey, you!" Karin calls, and the shinigami locks eyes with her, "you sure do look suspicious, sneaking around while all of this weird-"

Before she can finish, Hiyori creates some distance between herself and the tall sign; then, after arching her arm back all the way, sends it flying like a comet as it pierces through the Earth's atmosphere, until it deals a direct impact unto the face of a poor, unsuspecting Yachiru Kusajishi.

Yachiru blacks out and falls without even knowing what hit her.

After hearing the painful THUD that followed, Karin punches Hiyori's shoulder angrily. "What the hell was that for? All I said was she looked suspicious - that isn't grounds for you to go all apeshit on her!"

Hiyori prods her finger into Karin's solar plexus.

"You need to toughen up Kurosaki! We need to do this my way, so we can know for sure make sure she isn't screwing around." She throws away her soda cup.

"Toughen up? Your way?" Karin stares at her in disbelief. "Who do you think you are with lines like that? Sylvester Stallone?"

"What did you just call me?!"

When Yachiru comes to, she gathers that she must have been hit by a rogue flying car or something of a similar size, but had thankfully broken the fall of the fragile ticking time bomb under her charge, which she was now pathetically trapped under the weight of.

"Hey, I'm kind of stuck over here." She waves her hand at Karin and Hiyori, who were too busy bickering about what to do with her to notice that she had regained consciousness.

Karin looks, and when she sees Yachiru's unmasked face for the first time, her hard expression turns to one of confusion. "You're a shinigami? But...you're just a little girl."

"I'll let that one slide," cue a scathing sideways glare, "so, can you help me up, pretty please?" Cue a cheery, cutesy smile.

Hiyori sets a hand on Karin's shoulder.

"Don't let this little shrew trick you. Look," she says, pointing at the unconscious human sprawled out across Yachiru's legs. It was the same man the pink haired Lieutenant and Suì-Fēng had discovered earlier, whose face now featured one half of a hollow mask.

"Don't you think knocking her out with your shoe was enough punishment?"

Karin pulls the disfigured person off of Yachiru, who squirms out of the way to massage the life back into her tingly feet.

"What happened to him?" Karin asks as, being the daughter of a practicing clinician, she rushes to give him a quick First Aid once-over, "is he dead?" There was no breath and no pulse, but the skin was still warm somehow.

Hiyori circles Yachiru like a hungry predator, clutching something in her right hand. "Did you have anything to do with this?" She asks, more calmly than one would expect coming from such a rowdy thing. It sends off alarm signals in Karin's head, but all she can do now is watch.

"No! Not that it's any of your beeswax, Freckles." Yachiru responds, but rather than become irrited, Hiyori laughs loudly.

"As a matter of fact it is my beeswax, you little brat." She shows the object in her hand to be a candy dispenser topped with a cartoony pink rabbit's head.

With a light squeeze she ingests one of the artificial soul capsules Urahara had given to her along with the gigai, effectively raising the floodgate that was the only thing holding back the intense, deepseated rage that had welled up within her.

The Chappy-possessed gigai - as if sensing the severity of the moment - jumps into the dumpster to hide, singing "Hop! Hop! Hop!", leaving Karin, Yachiru, hollow dude, and the riled up soul of Hiyori alone to settle things on the sidewalk.

"Hiyori, what are you doing?" Karin asks, as her training partner effortlessly lifts Yachiru off the ground by the collar of her kosode.

"Lemme guess, one of the freaks in Squad 12 thought they'd have a helluva time experimenting on some humans," she spits at Yachiru, "so they sent you here to clean up as soon as everything went to shit. Am I right?!"

Yachiru narrows her eyes, but says nothing. The Lieutenant of Squad 11 had also taken on a frightening seriousness.

Karin tries to interject - saying that Hiyori should not jump to conclusions - but the pigtailed brawler will have none of that. The fact is she had already made up her mind upon first laying eyes on the shinigami, and was able to sense the spiritual makeup of the abomination she had with her.

"Not gonna talk? Then, I'll show you just how serious I really am."

Hiyori runs a hand across her face, causing her own hollow mask to form as if out of thin air.

Karin reaches for her ally's arm to stop her, but the sight of the mask gave her pause. It reminded her of those few solitary glimpses into the dark side of Ichigo she had experienced on one or two occasions.

She rears away, at once overcome by old fears, wondering if this was still the same girl she bought a double bacon burger and argued with about the validity of Karate over french fries only a few minutes ago.

Yachiru, however, looks less than impressed, even as Hiyori's spiritual pressure engulfed.

"What are you gonna do now, shinigami? Maybe if you beg for your life, I'll let you live long enough to deliver a message back to the bastards responsible for-"

Yachiru kicks Hiyori, then jerks free of her grasp. "Stop bothering me," she says, then produces a couple of pinky finger sized gray spheres from her side pouch while backing away.

"You shinigami never learn from past mistakes, do you?" Hiyori's voice is distorted, like there were two people speaking at once with every sound she uttered. She leaps into the air, and the bone white teeth of her mask's 'mouth' open up to let out a crimson red flash of sheer power - a cero blast.

The hurtling bolt explodes when it crashes into Yachiru, and as the dust clears Hiyori laughs maniacally while Karin stares in horror. But, when the dense white smoke seems to hang in the air far longer than normal, and begins to spread out beyond its initial radius...

"Hey, get back here. I'm not finished with you yet!" Hiyori looks around frantically, until her eyes catch the now shredded back of Yachiru's suddenly sleeveless outfit, just before she fades into a flash step.

Amazingly, within the spanse of less than a second the shinigami was able snatch the unconscious hollowfied man from Karin, throw two smoke bombs, and leap to safety.

"She's fast, but not fast enough carrying that guy around," Hiyori says with a smirk then disappears as well, never one to back down from a challenge.

Karin snaps out of her daze. She realized that the smouldering crater in the middle of the street was reason enough for her to want to put a stop to the rampaging friend that evidently shoots laser beams out of her mouth.

But how...?

Another explosion sounds off in the distance.


	8. Kenpachi Zaraki 1

The Squad 11 barracks lay quiet. Not dormant like a volcano threatening to erupt at any second, but perfect silence. For once there are no sounds of fighting, or gambling, or other depraved formats of ruckusing around to be heard here, at a division with a historic record of violence that stretches longer than the unsuppressed blade of a Zanpaktou.

Kenpachi Zaraki, a Captain and on top of that arguably the most vicious swordsman in the entire Soul Society, sits crosslegged as if he were calmly meditating inside of an empty dojo, since all of the new recruits feared him like the devil himself and rightfully so.

He grips the eye patch draped over the right side of his face - tempted to tear it off and scream as loudly as his lungs would allow - for no reason. Tempted to fall back on brute strength yet again he is, only this time with the hopeless desire to finally face an invisible tormentor that has stalked him for months.

"Look at me - I'm a damn mess," he growls, as he is compelled by some deeply etched instinct to grip the hilt of his sword.

Ironically, the jagged embodiment of his soul had undoubtedly been what brought him into his current state. It had guided him through victory after victory against one difficult opponent after another, never leaving enough time between each kill for his mind to wander beyond a single enemy standing before him, with murder gleaming in the color of their pupils. Now with no more strong opponents to fight, he is but a shrivelled, molted husk.

_But death is the price to pay for a good fight. It isn't my fault._

Tracing along the scar that slices through his left eye with one finger, the repressed memory hits him again, in all its devastating splendor.

In a flash, he recalls the graceless final moments of a woman with hair the same color of a raven's down, that smoothly flows past her shoulders like strands of dyed silk. Beautiful hair speckled with spots of her own blood, vomited out of her mouth in huge, heaving gasps and flowing from her nose in exploding, sulphurous bubbles.

_Still, I killed her..._

A hollow, elongated face with tiny, dark slits for eyes grips his soul by the throat, as he had done unto her with his bare hands as he drove his final vengeance through her heart. His hands, that are rough and tan and covered in countless nicks and scratches unlike her delicate, ivory palm that gently brushed his face.

_I did it with my own two hands!_

The sound of someone walking along the catwalk outside startles him, and he quickly rises with his weapon ready. "What do you want?" he yells, barely able to make out the slender, distinctly feminine sillhouette on the other side of the shoji screen.

Was it _her_ ghost, come back to haunt him? His blood runs cold, as that is the first thought to cross his mind.

"If you're one of the new guys you'd better say something quick, 'cuz I haven't had a good fight in a long time."

"It's only me Ken-chan!" a cheery, high-pitched voice calls out, "Soy-bean taught me something cool today. I wanna show you!"

Kenpachi relaxes at the sound of Yachiru Kusajishi's voice.

"Why the hell not?" he says, beckoning her inside with a wave of his hand. It had been a while since they last saw each other, since the day she began her crash course in Shunko - a fighting style that emphasizes agility over brute strength - that was just the style of combat that would suit a rambunctious shorty with a raging sweet tooth.

The young girl with light pink hair done in two pigtail braids pushes open the sliding screen door, letting in a baptism of sunlight as she saunters into the room, briefly stopping and backtracking a little to brush her straw sandals across the tatami mat before casting the amused 'Ken-chan' a reproachful glare.

"It's always so dark in here," she says, touching her lip and tilting her head curiously, as a child would.

"It doesn't matter to me," Kenpachi says. Lately he had grown to prefer the dark, as well as being alone. The company of Yachiru is an exception; however, as her pollyannic attitude is somewhat refreshing. Like a patch of blue sky on a cloudy day.

"Yeah. Captain No-Mood says it's bad for your health," she accosts him with feigned seriousness, even going so far as to shake a finger at him.

"Neither is fighting. That never stopped me."

She smiles mischievously.

"You know what? Since you won't take me seriously, I think I'll open this place up for you!"

Kenpachi stares at her blankly.

"Watch and learn, Ken-chan," Yachiru says with a wink.

After inhaling deeply, she pushes a powerful pulse of packed spiritual power from her right palm, in the form of a frenzy of wicked lightning bolts that sear and tear through the thin paper walls. The energy source that stems from her legs, courses through her shoulders, then jolts along the muscles of her arms is so intense that the fabric of her uniform covering her shoulder blades and the backs of her legs disintegrates immediately.

The technique is called _Shunshinraijin_, and 'Soybean' (really Suì-Fēng, of Captain of Squad 2 and Commander of the Stealth and Execution Force) would undoubtedly have been displeased if she had been around to witness her star pupil drawing upon a special skill just to scorch some shoji, but the risk does not concern Yachiru - so long as she could make Kenny smile - and being a child certainly does have its benefits when it comes time for punishment.

Kenpachi scoffs.

"That's a cool trick," he says with a devilish grin, propping his sword across his shoulder as multiple beams of sunlight spit in his face, "but if you're gonna rely on something like that to win your fights, it's not even worth it."

Yachiru stops shooting, saying nothing as the wheels in her head turn, until she realizes that she has just been issued a challenge. Although still deemed a child according to the general legislature of the Sereitei, that does nothing to exempt her from the codes of conduct within the 11th division, one of which decrees that any slight against your combat ability is grounds for an honor match.

"Ken-chan..." she bites her lip, obviously hesitant to pick anything with Kenpachi Zaraki, who was not only an intimidating bastard but one that she had held in the highest regard since she was an infant. How could it come to this, when all she wanted to do was cheer him up?

As they face each other down, he could sense her fear like a raw scent emitting from her, that made him cringe remotely as he pointed his Zanpaktou; its bone-sharpened tip glistening like a flawed crystal diamond.

Even as his blood boiled in anticipation, Yachiru shakes her head and refuses to take the bait. "I'm not going to fight you, Ken-chan," she says, and it takes all her strength to look straight at him; into his eyes, leering fiercely and unyielding. "You aren't thinking clearly right now."


End file.
